The End
by Escape
Summary: Cat goes on a vacation and meets some VERY interesting people...
1. The End

I'm sorry, but this is the disclaimer. Almost all of the the characters are from K.A. Applegate. Cat is original. So is Hardy. Okay, Laurel too. As for Cat's family (sorry, there's no excuse for them.) 

As always, Copyright 2000. 

Please read and review. And if you like this, there's a sequel called "The Return." And if you don't like this, then I guess you won't be reading "The Return." 

Chapter 1 

I guess it all started one or two years ago when I went on the annual trip. You know how when you visit family, you meet somewhere halfway? That's what we were doing, actually. Let me explain who "we" are. My mom, dad, and I were driving to someplace, I won't tell you where, to meet my aunt, uncle, and cousins, Hardy and Laurel. 

No, they have no connection with the comedians. 

We would spend three or four days in that place, and then go to where Hardy and Laurel live, spend a week or so there, and then come back home. We'd been doing that the past few years, but this time, it was a bit different. My mom had recently lost her job, and instead of trying to get another job, she was depending on my dad. So I had a feeling that she would use our relatives for all they were worth. Why? My grandparents used to own a lot of different businesses. They retired, of course, and are now content to waste their money on other people. Like my mom. 

When we got there, Uncle Chris and Aunt Cheri had already booked rooms at the hotel. The same hotel we had stayed at last year. Hardy and Laurel were waiting for us on the balcony. 

You know how younger cousins are, right? They drive you nuts when they visit. Especially for Christmas. You get kicked out of your room because of your cousins' parents (I only have two cousins. Hardy and Laurel.) and the guest room is taken by your grandparents. Your mom's brother is on the couch in the family room while you dad's brother is given the living room couch. You get stuck in the billiard room with your cousins. Your parents make you sleep on the floor while your cousins get the couches. You remember right as you're about to go to sleep that your cousins snore. What reminds you? Your cousins snoring loud enough to wake the dead. (I could have sworn I saw a dead guy walk through the wall one night and stare at them, shaking its fists angrily. No one else believed me, though.) Then they're up at five thirty in the morning playing with the laser tag set you got for Christmas. 

That's why I like it when we go to a hotel. 

As soon as I got out of the car, Laurel was jumping around like crazy, talking so fast I could hardly understand her. I caught bits and pieces of the one-sided conversation. "We're going to go to the mall," "sale," "bigtime," "Laura and Lauren and the other Laura," "can't wait to go," and then something about Friday the 13th. By the way, by some freak accident, that's when the beginning of the vacation was, Friday the 13th. 

Lucky, huh? 

I noticed Hardy was kind of hanging back, with his hands in his pockets, watching me like a hawk. Something was wrong, going on. I know it sounds weird, but Hardy and I have this sort of link. We haven't gotten to the point where we can read each other's mind, but, well, weird things happen. I nodded to him. "You got the stuff?" I saw the faintest ghost of a smile. 

Ghost. Friday the 13th. Get it? 

"Yeah, I brought the stuff. You bring your stuff?" 

"Yeah. You show yours first." 

Here's a thing about Hardy. Even in the middle of summer, he always has a jacket. A denim jacket. I admit that it looks kind of cool, but in the middle of summer? It was probably over one hundred degrees outside. He opened the zipper a bit and took out some books, careful not to let my parents see. The books were Animorphs books, and my mom thinks I'm too old for them. Even though I think they're cool. 

Hardy gave a little nod to me. "You bring your stuff?" he said, zipping up his jacket again. 

I smiled. "Don't I always?" I opened my back pack and showed him a bunch of books. He nodded slightly with approval. 

I looked at him again, and I could tell he knew that I knew that something was wrong. 

"Need some help with the luggage?" he asked. 

"Oh," Laurel said, her smile falling. By the way, the "Oh" ended the one-sided conversation for the moment. "Yeah. Need help?" she asked dryly. 

I raised my eyebrows a bit and thought to myself, Boy, Laurel is so caring. I'm just so glad I an say I'm related to her. "No, I can handle it." 

I pushed the back pack onto my shoulder and got the suitcase out of the trunk. "This is all I have." 

Laurel's eyes widened. "Girl, we have got to get you shopping." 

I smiled. "I was planning on it." 

Laurel nodded deeply with approval and ran up the stairs. 

{Talk about hyper.} 

I looked at Hardy. Hardy looked at me. Our mouths dropped. And then, I know this sounds weird, but I could see inside of him. Not inside of him. I could see his mind or whatever. He was trying to find some sort of explanation for what had just happened. And the thing was, he couldn't. The thought had come from somewhere else, I knew that. And I had a feeling of where. Above. Weird, huh? I also knew, somehow, that Hardy wasn't ready to explain it yet. 

"So what are the plans for tonight?" I asked, changing the subject for his sake. 

"Plans?" he asked. Then he caught on. "Oh, you mean for tonight. Friday the 13th. What did you have in mind?" 

"Well, I looked into it, and I talked granddaddy into booking reservations at some fancy, no-kids-allowed, expensive restaurant." 

"Great. Sure you can afford it?" 

"What do you mean 'sure you can afford it?'." Deep down, I was thinking Who told you about Mom getting laid off? "I talked granddaddy into buying." 

"Oh." 

I looked at him in the eye then. Long enough so we both knew, absolutely knew, that we had to talk about what was going on. Before, we'd only had a sense of what was going on with each other, and now it was coming on full force. There aren't really words to explain it. 

"Later," he told me. 

We went up the stairs like nothing had happened. 

Chapter 2 

True to his word, granddaddy took the adults out to dinner. Meanwhile, I had to take on the job of baby-sitting. Hardy, Laurel, and I spent part of the night telling horror stories and chowing down on junk food. Maybe I should have put the food away after a while, but how was I supposed to know, you know? 

"I don't feel that good," Laurel complained. She had slowed down so I could understand her by then. Either that or I had gotten used to hyper-speed. 

"You don't look good, either," Hardy pointed out. 

"Does she ever?" I joked. 

Laurel's eyes got larger. "Oh," followed by a cussed. She slapped her hand over her mouth and made a wild dash for the bathroom. 

Hardy and I looked at each other. "Uh-oh," we said at the same time. That was the normal connection we had, finishing sentences for each other and saying things at the same time. We'd always had that. 

"This isn't going to be pretty," I told him. 

He nodded. "It isn't going to smell good either. I'll clean this stuff up and you go help her." 

"Oh, sure. Dump the worse part on the older cousin. After all," I complained as I went towards the bathroom. "What else should I expect from my dear cousin?" 

I patted Laurel on the back as she- As she, well, spilled her guts, I guess. Vomited. Big time. During breaks, I would cool her down with a wet washcloth. I know it sounds bad, but I was actually kind of relieved when I found out she had a fever. 

Hey, at least I wouldn't get blamed for getting her sick. 

After she was done throwing up, I led her to a bed and tucked her in, flushed the toilet, and decided to keep patting a cold, wet cloth on her face. But I wasn't going to go back and forth from the bathroom to the bed every time. 

Don't get me wrong, I love both of my cousins, but I'm not going to do something like that. 

Exercise? Forget that. 

I took the ice bucket to find the ice machine. If Hardy were there, I could've made him do it, but he had apparently disappeared after doing a more or less good job of cleaning up. 

"Laurel, think you can hold on for a second? I have to go get some ice. I'll be right back, and if you feel like you're about to throw up again, the bathroom is right there." Without waiting for an answer, I took the hotel key and went out. 

I know that this is going to sound weird, but right when I stepped out of the room I felt it. A presence. You might even say it was insane, I know. But I could actually sense Hardy. 

Insane, huh? 

It was actually a pretty old hotel. Not even an elevator. Just a staircase at each end of the balcony/hall. And Hardy was near the stairs. On the left. Downstairs. I went down the whatever it was. It wasn't a balcony, but it sure as heck wasn't a hall. Anyway, I walked down towards the stairs. I reached the top and stood there. Below, I could hear people talking. 

"So that's your cousin?" 

"Yeah." 

"I didn't thought-speak to her. Earlier. But it looked like she heard." 

"I'm trying to figure it out myself." Hardy was uneasy. "Besides, didn't you guys come up for a vacation?" 

"Yeah." 

I took a step down. 

"What was that?" 

"Could it have been a squirrel? Squirrel. Skrow. Rel. Uh." 

"Hold on with that a sec. Hardy, you okay?" 

"Yeah, sure. Why wouldn't I be?" 

"I don't know. You just seem... weird. That's all." 

"Well, I'm fine. And I think I need to get back before she realizes I'm not there." 

"Okay. See you around." 

"Yeah, whatever." 

I ran as quietly as I could to the ice bucket and stuck it under my arm. Hardy started climbing the stairs. "Hey, there you are," I said. "What's up?" 

He shrugged. "Just went to see if I could get a coke." 

I tried not to even look at the coke machine next to me. "Yeah, well, hold this lid open." He held it while I shoveled ice into the bucket. "Laurel is definitely sick. She has a fever. Right now she's in bed." 

"Did she puke a lot?" 

"Puked her guts out. If I didn't know her so well, I'd call her a poor thing and take pity on her." 

Hardy smiled. That's how we got our laughs. Picking on Laurel. And when somebody else picked on Laurel, we'd join forces and pick on them. This varied from throwing rocks and "borrowing" the glove of the stuck-up coach's daughter on Laurel's softball team for throwing rocks at Hardy to putting a bunch of lizards in the pillows at sleepovers when Laurel got into a fight on one of her girl scout trips. 

Little girls can scream incredibly loud. 

When we got back to the room, Laurel was snoring lightly. So we fought over whether soccer, baseball, football, and basketball, were better, and if so, pro, college, or little kids running around the field/court with no idea what they were doing. We told ghost stories, watched TV, and basically did whatever until the adults showed up. 

Chapter 3 

Three days later, we were in Hardy's hometown. He was back at his house while I was literally stuck with my grandparents. One thing about visiting people in the middle of summer. It's incredibly hot, nowhere to go unless it's inside with plenty of air conditioning, and pretty much boring. I had already read most of the books from Hardy, but then I finished them. 

Like an idiot, I decided to go and return them. 

So I chose a minute when my mom was especially busy doing something with the newspaper, and asked if I could walk. Answer: "Sure, sure whatever." 

I walked the few blocks there, and the first thing I noticed was that no one seemed to be home. I walked around back, figuring, Hey, I can just leave these books here and go. 

Until I noticed that the sliding glass door was open. Leaving some books in Hardy's room would be even better. 

I walked through the house and managed to recognize Hardy's door. Not that hard, actually, since it has a sign with his full name on it. I was just about to open it, when I heard a voice. A lot of voices, actually. 

"No, absolutely not." 

"But we need all of the ammo and fire power we can get. And she isn't like David," Hardy argued. 

"How do you know that?" The first person snapped. 

"Well, then, why did you let me help?" 

"You found out about us on accident." It was a new voice. A girl's voice. 

"And because of the books, right? I mean, that's how I found you." 

"The books were a part of it," The first person said. He sounded tired now. Silence for a few minutes and then, "Just because she didn't go to the pool or anything doesn't mean we can trust her." 

"But she can read the books, too," Hardy said. 

"What! How- Oh, man." 

"Well, we could use some more firepower," the second voice said slowly. "No," another girl snapped. "You saw what happened to David. We broke him. He fell apart." 

"Admit it," Hardy said, "you did kind of force him into it." 

Good one, Hardy. 

I walked into the room then. I'm not really sure why. And when I got a look at them, I knew. I knew I was right. The quick flash of blue disappearing into the closet, the bird now pretending to be stuffed on Hardy's bed post. 

"Ever hear of knocking?" Rachel snapped. 

I shrugged apologetically. "Sorry. I didn't know anyone was home." 

"How'd you get in?" Hardy asked. 

"Through the back door. You know, I thought I told you to always lock your doors." 

"Still doing that, huh?" 

"Not as often." 

"Doing what?" Cassie asked. 

I shrugged again. "Picking locks," I explained. "I used to live in a kind of rough neighborhood. These two girls started picking on me because they knew that I knew what they did." 

"And what was that?" 

"Drugs, smoking, alcohol, and a few other not so good things. So I figured that if I gave the police enough evidence, maybe those two wouldn't be, you know, able to do the same things. So I learned how to pick locks and break into places without getting caught. I got the evidence, but the police didn't believe me." 

"Really." 

"Yep. Here are those books I borrowed, Hardy." I handed them to him, acting what I hoped was casual. 

"Ever been in a fight before?" Marco asked. 

"Yeah, a few times." 

"And?" 

"The first time, I, lived which was good enough. The other times, I won, which was even better." 

"Hardy says you read... books." Jake looked me in the eye. I used that trick too. You know, looking into someone's eye to see if they're lying. 

"Uh-huh. Most of the books." 

He raised his eyebrow. "Oh yeah? What do you know about... Ax?" 

"Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill, younger brother of Elfangor-Sirinial-Shamtul. Entered the group in book number four, which Cassie narrated. He was in the dome part of his ship when it crashed in the ocean. First morph on earth was the shark. Knows a few words of the Yeerk language if not the entire language. In book number nine, which Cassie also narrated, he laughed at the name of the Yeerk logging company, named Dapsen something or other, and Marco made some sort of joke about it. In number eight, he tells who his parents are, but I didn't read that one." I sounded like walking encyclopedia. I opened my mouth to add more. 

"Then how did you know?" Jake interrupted. 

"It said on the web sites" 

Jake flashed a look at Hardy. "There are web sites too?" 

Hardy cringed. "Yeah." 

"Which means other people can read those books," Rachel said slowly. 

I looked at the computer in the corner. "Hardy, do you have Internet access?" 

He looked at me slowly. "May I please speak to you for a moment?" 

I looked at him. "I know, Hardy. I haven't checked everything out for quite a while. Besides, they can't read it." 

He shook his head, still undecided. 

"Hardy, don't get all responsible on me, because if you do, well, I don't know what I'll do, but you and I know that I can take care of myself." 

{So what, you think you're some sort of tough kid who can-} The bird now showed signs of life. 

"Yes, I think I am a tough kid. You would to if you knew about me." 

The bird looked at me sideways and then looked at Hardy. Hardy was mouthing "Don't get her started." 

I made my way to the computer and logged on. I could get the Internet using my own password thanks to something my dad had done. I checked out the sites. "So you guys can't see any of this stuff?" I asked. 

"No," Cassie said. "I don't like the Internet anyway. I mean, you know. Computers, not that I have anything against them or anything, but some people just spend too much time on the Net and stuff. I mean, they should get outside more. Enjoy life." 

"And not spend all day on a computer like this," I agreed, drumming my fingers against the desk. Then I looked at Hardy. "What happened to your computer?" 

"What do you mean?" 

"It's slow, that's what I mean. My dad's is faster than this. Heck with that. Granddaddy's is faster." 

"Is not." 

"Is too. If I had access, mine would be faster." 

"That's just because you got a new computer for Christmas. But I'm going to get another computer this coming up Christmas and it'll be faster than yours." 

"Geez. Do you two always fight like this?" Rachel asked, slightly annoyed. 

"Only when Laurel isn't around. Speaking of Laurel, where is she?" 

"Hospital. Her fever got pretty high and it scared my mom half to death. Hey, what's the deal with your mom?" He winked at the others. 

"Actually, she got laid off a while ago. The scary thing," I looked straight at the screen. "The scary thing is that she was reading the paper today-" 

"So?" In the reflection on the monitor, I saw Hardy shrug. "Everybody reads the papers." 

"Yeah, but I think she was reading the classifieds. And I could have sworn I saw a few things circled." 

"What's so bad about that? I mean, if you move here-" 

"Hardy, my dad already has a great job at the newspaper. You know that. He's the best guy they've got probably. He can't give up his job to move here. Both of my parents have agreed that his job is important and he should keep it. Which means that if my mom decides to get a job and move here, they'll be separated. And then all of the suspicions and jealousy will start up, and before you know it, I'm another number under the list of divorced parents." I had started to speed up at the second sentence, until I started sounding like, "Andthenallofthesuspicionsandjealousywillstartup,andbefore you- knowit,I'manothernumber," you get the hint. Everything had gushed out, and I'm not the type to get really emotional. "So just shut up, okay?" I snapped. 

I stared at the screen for a few minutes, Hardy watching over my shoulder from the top bunk. 

"Nothing new," I said. "But I have a plan, if you're interested." 

"Oh, geez." Jake's head fell into his hands again. 

I shrugged. "It wouldn't be that hard, actually. Go to the Yeerk pool, find the control room or whatever, download a virus that will wipe everything out in a few hours. Jam the signal to the mother ship and all. Find the Kandrona and destroy it again. If they survived with great damage for three weeks with only the Kandrona on the mother ship, but they can't contact the mother ship to get help, well, think about it." 

I turned around and saw them all looking at each other. "Anybody want something to drink? I'm thirsty. No? Okay, two lemonades, and a cold coke." 

"What?" Marco asked. "You're going to drink all that?" 

"No, but Tobias likes cold cokes, or so I read, and I don't think Ax hasn't tasted lemonade yet." 

"Lemonade? Lemon. Lehm. Mun. Ade. Uh." 

"Yeah. Okay. Be back in a sec." 

I left the room so they could talk. I got three cups, filled them with ice, and made some lemonade. Great lemonade too, if I do say so myself. I poured the coke in the last cup, got a tray with some napkins, and took them to Hardy's room. 

Yeah, I did think my parents might get a divorce. I mean, I had been trying not to think about it, but everybody's a basket case when you think about it. My parents had been fighting more lately, and I really did know what Mom was doing with the paper. But I had said it out loud. Finally let it sink in. There was just the slightest possibility now that what I had said might be true. 

I set the tray down on Hardy's bedside table and passed the drinks out. Ax smiled when he started sipping his lemonade. "Sour," he said. Then gulped it down. I smiled. 

"We've decided," Jake said. He looked like someone who was glad he had just made a decision over something so he could put it behind him. But I could tell he was still a bit worried about what would happen if I turned into someone like David. 

Hardy jumped off of the bunk. "Welcome to the club!" 

I smiled. I didn't really say much. I didn't have to. I think everyone was pretty sure what I was thinking. That I was worried, maybe even scared. But instead I was kind of glad in an odd way. At last, I would get a chance to fight. 


	2. The End, Part 2

First of all, the same old disclaimer. Most of the characters- you know who they are- do not belong to me. Cat and Hardy are. Sorry for making you poor readers and any lawyers trying to sue me for something or other read this nonsense. 

Oh, and, of course. Lawyers, take note. COPYRIGHT 2000 (Hah! It feels funny typing in three zeroes!) 

As always, read and review. Hope you enjoy! There's a sequel called "The Return" if you like this. 

Chapter 4 

It wasn't that hard, really. I got the morphing power, then decided on the basic morphs. To spy: the cockroach. I told them a bit about the cockroach while I morphed it for the first time and tested it out. Things that I had read about it. Hardy had apparently already told them that I did a lot of animal research. I told them that less than one percent of all cockroaches are actually pests. Then I told them which ones were pest, or at least the major ones. I could have sworn they laughed a bit. Marco called me "Tree hugger." I told him, {That's Miss Tree Hugger to you.} 

To fly, I chose the kestrel. I had to explain two or three times that because it was small, it could get closer without being seen and it had the same vision. They still didn't seem to comprehend why. I guess that small isn't well known in a world where you either fight or die. 

To fight, I chose my all-time favorite animal. The cougar. I raved about it in the woods, while Ax was standing by, ready to fight me if I got out of hand, and the others were in bird morph in the trees. I jumped onto the tree limb next to Rachel and she freaked. 

They said they were surprised by how easily I gained control. I said it was no big deal, embarrassed. Hardy seemed so pleased and cocky that I pushed him and said, "Too bad it doesn't run in the family." 

Then we talked to Erek the Chee and Jake let me tell Erek what I was hoping for. I told him. He seemed kind of happy about doing it, too. Who wouldn't? 

At home, things were getting worse. My mom was going out to interviews and was being told that it looked promising. She and Dad were fighting more and more. I started getting out whenever I could. And then it happened. 

My dad had gone out to the computer store with granddaddy. They're into technical stuff big time, I guess. My mom was sitting at the table in the breakfast room, holding a paper that looked official. I had just come back from the zoo with the others. 

"Cat, sit down a sec. I need to talk to you." 

I sat down. There wasn't anything I could do to get out of it. 

"Cat, I've been thinking, and you know how I couldn't get a job back home, right?" 

I nodded silently. Then I swallowed and prayed that she hadn't seen that my fingers were intertwining again and again. 

"Well, I've found the perfect job. Really. I think I'll be happy there. And it will bring in plenty of money for us." 

"Us?" I echoed. I just wanted to get this done with. 

"Well, you and I. Your dad and I talked and we decided that he should keep his job there. We'll visit each other whenever we can. But we've agreed that you should come live with me since your dad isn't home a lot..." 

It didn't really bother me that I hadn't had a choice. I would have reached the same decision. In court, if it would ever go that far, which was extremely unlikely, my mom would have gotten custody."When do you start?" I asked quietly. 

"Next week." 

"What about high school? Remember? I'm going to that great school, and all of the teachers like me, and all of my teachers from elementary school said I'd do great there?" 

"I talked to them. They're sending back all of the money. Thankfully, they hadn't cashed the checks yet. You'll be going to the same public school that I went to when I was young. Isn't that great?" 

"Yeah, great." I got up and left. 

"Where are you going?" 

"On a walk." 

"Be careful." 

So it was final. My parents were separating. I would be living here. Forget my life back home. Forget family values. Forget the fact that I actually had friends. Forget that I had a chance of getting a scholarship at the high school I had been about to attend. This was better for me. I could still write to my friends. Even though we would eventually lose touch. 

You see, I'm not some sort of ordinary kid. I think. A lot. Sometimes I think it's a curse. But I know how most people tick. It was like I could read them like a book. Me? I don't know who I am, really. But I can tell you almost everything about other people I know. And I knew what was going to happen. 

I walked out of town. My grandparents lived on the edge so it really wasn't that far. I walked into the woods. I didn't really intend to run away or anything. I just needed to think. A lot. After all, that was what I was good at, I thought with a slight laugh. I was helping to win a war that not many people knew about and fewer believed was actually happening. That was going great. I had come up with a great plan, or so everyone said. They had even found the Kandrona. We had made plans to destroy it tonight. 

But then there was my other life. The one that was falling apart. My parents, on the road to divorce. Both having close friends in both areas. Me, stuck someplace without a say. I probably would have even felt better if were in the middle of it all, but instead, I was just left out on a limb. 

I found a nice spot. There were trees overhead everywhere, blocking the view to the sky. Even better, blocking the view from the sky. There was a small clearing. Very small. And perfect for feeling sorry for yourself. I sat there, leaning against a tree. Doing nothing. I tried not to concentrate on anything. But I kept seeing everything at once. The risks involved in going to the Yeerk pool. My parents. The Kandrona. Blood. My friends. My room. Victory. Loss. All of it was all meshed together, and I had no idea how to get all of my thoughts organized. 

After a long time, they came. Just like I knew they would. Slowly at first, but then faster. I let them fall. I only brushed them away when they tickled my cheeks. I cried. For the first time in a long time, I cried. 

Tobias had been right, when he had called me tough. I was very tough. I made it a rule not to show my weaknesses. I had only just now discovered that I had friends back home who actually were real friends. Pals, you know? Jen, Marie, Brandy, Brittany, Renee, Allison, even the guys. If I were ever in big trouble, they would probably help me out. Like the time I kind of kicked Renee. Well, we'd gotten into a fight, and we were both good friends. We defined our friendship as "an odd, weird, friendship." Anyway, Renee hadn't told the teachers who'd kicked her, and when the teachers asked the class, all of whom knew who was to blame, they said they didn't know and hadn't seen. Those were friends I wanted to keep. And who did I know here? Laurel, Hardy, and the Animorphs, and Ax. Who was I technically allowed to hang out with? Hardy and Laurel. Period. 

I sat there. And I guess I sat there a long time. Only moving when I had to brush away a tear. Every once in a while, I'd hear things. Cars honking in the city. When the wind was just right, I could hear a river from somewhere. And then it happened. 

{Cat? Cat? Are you there?} I sat perfectly still, praying that he'd go away. {Ah. There you are.} 

By now, I had stopped crying. I was dried up, I guess. I wiped my eyes as Tobias landed. "Hey, Tobias. What are you doing here?" 

{Looking for you. You've been gone for hours now.} 

"Wow. That long?" 

{Yeah. Cat, are you okay? I mean- Oh. What's wrong?} 

I shrugged. Caught red-handed. My eyes must have been red. "Nothing major." 

Tobias demorphed. "Tell me the truth. After all, you pretty much know everything about us." 

I nodded. After all, they did have a right to know. For more than that reason. "It's final." 

"You mean..." 

"Yeah. My mom has gotten a job here. My dad is going back home so he can work. I'm living with my mom and going to the same high school she went to when she was a kid. I just found out today." 

"You just found out today?" 

I nodded. 

"No wonder you ran out. So what was the deal? Did they just go against everything you said because it was for your own good, or what?" 

I shook my head. "No. I just found out today. About everything. I mean, I knew my parents were fighting a lot, and that my mom was looking for a new job here, but it was kind of like HI, THIS IS WHAT WE'RE DOING, WHETHER YOU LIKE IT, OR NOT." By the way, in capital letters? I was imitating my mom on that. 

"Ouch. Well, it's been five or six hours. I think you'd better get back. I'll tell the guys you're okay. Think you can make it tonight?" 

I shook my head. "I don't think so. But if I can, I'll meet you there." 

Tobias looked at me. I thought he was going to say something like "Not as tough as you thought, huh?" Instead, he pointed past the tree I was now standing by, and said, "It's that way. Straight on." 

I kind of smiled and thanked him. Then I stopped. "Tobias? Call off that thing tonight. We'll destroy the Kandrona after we download the virus. That way, they can't order another one before we jam the signal. I just thought of that." 

Tobias laughed. "Good thing you thought of it. Everything would have been wasted." 

I smiled. "Yeah." Then I went home. I had a feeling that the guys had already known that it wouldn't do any good to destroy the Kandrona tonight. Tobias can act, but not that well when he's a hawk. He gave a little start and preened his feathers when I had told him to call off the raid tonight. 

At least they cared. 

That night, the guys came, one by one, to check on me. They hadn't destroyed the Kandrona after all. I didn't have any trouble with it. I was glad for the distraction. I didn't feel like sleep. 

My parents had been careful not to fight when I got back. And I think everyone understood that I had only needed to think. My grandparents were nicer. I stayed in my room most of the night, writing stories, drawing, working on my research. I wasn't tired until four AM, when Cassie left. She told me to get some sleep because the next that night, we were going to plant the virus. 

After that, I slept. I woke up at one in the afternoon, with Hardy knocking on my door. I told him he could come in, because I have a habit of sleeping in my clothes in case of emergencies. He came in, and I could tell that he had heard. 

"So who told you?" 

"Aunt Maggie. She seems happy." 

"Yeah, I guess. So do you know what school our parents went to?" 

"High school? I'm not sure." 

"Huh. So I heard about tonight." 

"Yeah. Apparently, Laurel's really sick, so my parents are staying with her in the hospital, and I'm spending the night at Jake's, I think." 

"You know Jake?" 

"Yeah. His dad's a doctor, remember? My dad is an insurance business owner." 

"Ah, yes." 

"We'll pick you up tonight about one." 

"In the morning?" 

"Yeah. From what I hear, you were up that late last night anyway." 

I smiled. "What, did you think I would actually be able to get some sleep?" 

Hardy looked at me and smiled back. "Guess not." We did that, just kind of sat there for a while. "So, uh. Marco wants to go to the mall to see how many cinnabons Ax can eat before he explodes again. Want to come?" 

"Sure." 

We went to lunch and then caught a movie. After which, Rachel dragged me and Cassie around the mall, showing me the dos and don'ts. I had fun. I know it sounds weird, but for some reason, after my stuck up friends and the friends who always took things seriously, it was nice to kick back. And I honestly had fun. 

That's my loyalty to my friends. One minute they're fine, the next I don't like them that much. They were true friends, I know. But it's not like I can't change my mind about them sometimes. 

Chapter 5 

That night, I slept in the leotard I had gotten while shopping with Rachel and Cassie. Not that day, of course. Hardy and Jake came and picked me up, then we met the others in an old house that was for sale. 

We morphed moles and crept down to the bat cave, then changed to flies. All the bats had left the cave to hunt by then. The others had decided that bats were too big and flies were harder for the hunter robots to hit. Erek was waiting inside with the virus. 

We got to the Yeerk pool without too much trouble, and the demorphed in one of the side halls. After that, we got some spare clothes that Erek and the Chee had left for us. We met up with Erek who gave me the disk. He gave us directions. Us, because Ax and Marco were going to come with me while Hardy and the others would cause a distraction. Ax told us which way to turn until we reached the control room. Just then, we heard screams and Dracon beams firing. 

"They can't even get a simple fire right," Marco muttered. 

"Should we fight?" Ax asked, in human morph. 

"They'll need help, probably," I offered. 

Marco nodded. "Cat, you stay here. Ax and I will go help. We need you to load the virus. After that, morph to fly and get out of here ASAP. Got it?" 

"Yeah. Are you sure you don't need my help?" 

Marco shook his head and then smiled. "Are all blondes like Xena or something?" 

"Hey, Rachel and I have not gotten our swords and little round disk things yet." 

Marco laughed and then he and Ax ran off to help. I watched them go. 

And then suddenly, "What's happening?" A Controller, standing in the doorway of the control room. He was speaking to me. 

Stay calm, I commanded myself. "A fight." 

"What? Fights don't happen here." 

"Not unless there are Andalite bandits around," a man behind him said. 

Before I knew it, I was being rushed to go help by all of the men that had been hanging out in the control room. They even gave me a Dracon Beam. But by the time I got there, it was too late. The fight was over. Ax was tied up, along with the others. They were all bleeding badly with Dracon bean wounds and Hork-Bajir wounds. I looked after them. None of them tried to look at me, but I could feel Hardy in my mind. He and Marco were both gorillas, and he was the one that nearly had his leg ripped off. Then they were all gone, led away by a bunch of cheering Controllers. I was alone. All around me Controllers were celebrating the last of the Andalite bandits. 

"The Visser will kill them! And then Earth will be ours!" People sounded so happy, so excited. What few people there were, at least. At one in the morning, not many people were here. 

And then I got an idea. No, not and idea. A plan. A brilliant plan. 


	3. The End, Part 3

As always, the disclaimer: Most of the characters in this story are in the possession of one Ms. K.A. Applegate. Hence, the remaining characters are of my own self-absorbed genius- just kidding. If I were you, I'd be glad that I wasn't president. I'd be talking like that all the time. (Hence this, hence that. I can see it now...) ~Screams and faints~ 

COPYRIGHT 2000 (Year 2G) 

When you're done reading this, there's a sequel (gag) called "The Return." 

Chapter 6 

I went back to the control center. Of course, no one was there, they were all celebrating. I went in and looked around. I should have no problem operating this stuff. A few simple computers, a few printers, scanners, fax machines, copiers, no problem. 

I went over to what looked like the newest computer and bailed out of whatever the program the guy had on before the fight. Get this. It was Men In Black, the CD-ROM game. 

I clicked on the Microsoft word icon. I didn't even need a password. Apparently, the Yeerks way overrated Andalites. Andalites probably thought this would be too simple, actually, but humans who are somewhat desperate, they can do pretty much anything. I found two files that looked completely unimportant and clicked on the print button. I've got to give it to the Yeerks, though. They get fast office equipment. 

I found a folder and put the papers in there. Then I went back to the computer and inserted the virus. 

I was proud of that virus. Erek, the Chee, and Ax had rigged it so that it would start automatically loading, simple when you think about it. Then it would spread into the computer, then it would get into the entire system and spread. I had asked them to get it to attack the mainframe so everything in all Yeerk systems would crash. And then, it would jam all of the signals. And ships in space would be paralyzed, unable to move. Everywhere. It was cruel, probably, when you thought of all of the things that could go wrong. But too bad. 

After I got the virus downloaded, I took it out of the slot and broke it. I thoroughly demolished it. On the very last page of the papers, I wrote in small, fine letters, "Ha Ha." Visser Three's ego was bigger than it had the right to be. I was going to burst his bubble, so to speak. Big time. We were going to win, and we were going to win big. 

I walked confidently to the Visser's quarters. It wasn't that hard to find. There were signs of it. A few blue hairs here, a tail blade mark there. Maybe a bit of blood every now and then. I smothered the folder with dirt on one side when I reached what I hoped was the right door. I knocked. 

The door was opened by another Andalite, older and uglier than Ax. 

"Hello, sir. This was outside your door." I handed him the folder. I felt his fingers and chose that moment. When it was done, I said, "And congratulations on the victory, sir. You will be celebrated throughout the Empire." I curtsied. 

{Wait. What was that you just did?} 

"Oh, the curtsy? Humans in ancient times did that whenever they were faced with royalty. I believe you are deserving of it." 

The Visser formed a sort of smile with his eyes. {I like it.} 

"I'm glad." I curtsied again and then left. When I went down the hall, I started breathing again. I may be confusing, rude, the queen of making lame and bad jokes, but good Lord, I could be the queen of sucking up when I wanted to be. 

I didn't have time to celebrate, though. 

I asked one of the Controllers where the Andalites had been taken. She told me. We laughed and dissed them for a few minutes, and all along, I was laughing more at her than she was about the capture, all along the anger in me rising, wondering how she could possibly saying these things. Had the person the Yeerk possessed given up hope? Then again, what reason was there to hope? As far as this lady was concerned, her last hope had just gotten captured. 

I went down another hallway, took a few turns and finally found the right place. I looked around, and seeing that it was clear, started to change. 

My arms turned blue and hairy, and I grew more fingers. I felt my mouth disappear and my nose shrink. On top of my head, I felt something sprout, and then, I could see in all four directions. {I like it.} I thought to myself, mocking the Visser, adding a stupid drawl to the voice. Yeah, I even had his thought-speak voice. {Cool,} I said in my own. By now, I was fully Andalite. Two hearts, two pairs of legs, two pairs of eyes. {Cool.} 

I was Visser Three. 

And although the Yeerks had won the battle, they were going to lose the war. 

Chapter 7 

I bursted in through the door. The guys were chained and weighed down heavily. Even Hardy and Marco, the gorillas. 

"Visser Three!" Three men jumped up out of their chairs, holding Dracon beams. 

{Go celebrate with the rest of your kind,} I told them. Then I started snarling. {I want to talk alone with these Andalite bandits.} 

"Yessir. Right away, sir. And congratulations!" they called as they ran down the hall, away from me. 

{You know,} I said in my own voice, {I don't think they like Visser Three much.} 

All of the assorted animals stared at me. 

{What?} I asked defensively. {You aren't the only ones that can morph.} 

I demorphed. "It's okay, There aren't any cameras." They demorphed and the chains fell off. Ax morphed a fly and then remorphed. "Ax, go to human," I told him. I gave Hardy a quick hug. "I have to make a quick phone call and then we'll go destroy the Kandrona. Think if I dial nine, I'll get an outside number?" 

"So you downloaded the Virus?" Jake asked. 

"Of course. They don't even know it. They're too busy celebrating." 

"How did you morph Visser Three?" Cassie asked. 

"Later, huh? Over a celebration dinner sometime?" 

"We thought- I mean, I didn't think so, but- it seemed like-" 

I caught on to Hardy's train of thought. "Hardy, I didn't betray anyone. If I had wanted to betray someone, anyone, I would have done it by now." I looked around at all the others. "Does that make enough sense?" 

They nodded. 

I led the way out and finally found a phone. And I found more than that. We found Erek. When he saw us, it looked like he had seen a ghost. Or ghosts. 

"You guys are okay!" he exclaimed in astonishment. He looked at me in my leotard. My clothes had gotten shredded. Then again, so had everyone else's. And Ax was walking around without a shirt. 

"I know. I need you to do one more favor. Please." 

"More clothes?" he joked. 

"No, I need you to call the Kandrona ray place and tell them that we've won, to come down here and celebrate, and if you absolutely have to, tell them that they don't have to guard the Kandrona anymore. And especially tell them that the Andalites have been taken." 

He nodded. "Cool. Mind if I ask how you guys pulled it off?" 

"Later." 

He called and gave me the thumbs-up sign when he was done. "They're on their way down." 

I smiled. Great. 

Chapter 8 

"So what was the phone call about?" Hardy asked. 

"It was about making this a whole lot easier. Plus, I figured you guys wouldn't want to fight." 

They nodded. We flew to the tower that night. It was the same radio tower that had been used in number seven. What was it called? The EGS Tower. 

{The Yeerks must be stupid to put the Kandrona there. We already found it and destroyed it,} Tobias said. 

{Yes. It is an insult to our intelligence,} Ax agreed. 

{That's the point,} I told them. {You already destroyed it here. You wouldn't expect for them to put it in the same place. It's brilliant, actually. They still think we're Andalites. And Ax, admit it, Andalites underrate the Yeerks a lot.} 

{We do not,} Ax said defensively. 

{Yes you do. Even Elfangor pointed that out. Along with a few other words of wisdom.} 

{Elfangor?} Tobias and Ax both said together. 

{Yeah, I'll have to give you the book. Or read it to you, since you can't see it.} 

{So all we have to do is bust in there, and push the Kandrona over the side?} Cassie asked. {No fighting?>} 

I felt elated. It was going to work. {No fighting,} I answered back. 

{What about the Yeerk peace movement?} she asked. 

I thought. They hadn't been destroyed. {Erek has weeded them out. They're staying with the free Hork-Bajir. They have a bunch of those portable pools so they can live until everything's over. Then we'll get them on a ship to go to wherever they want.} 

{Who will their hosts be?} Jake asked. 

{Whoever wants to go. Maybe a few Taxxons, maybe a few Hork-Bajir.} 

{There's the tower,} Marco reported. {Should we simply walk in and ride the elevator, to celebrate?} 

{Cat? Your call,} Jake told me. 

{No, go in carefully. Just in case there are still Controllers around. On the way down, we can shout and scream and celebrate all we want.} 

{Deal,} Marco said. 

We landed and demorphed. Ax stood aside as his usual self, and the rest of us morphed into the worst animals we could think of. Me? I had the cougar, of course. 

Marco, in his gorilla morph, went over to the door. {Hello?} He knocked and broke the glass. {Guess nobody's home.} 

He opened the door and Jake, the tiger; Cassie, the wolf; Tobias, the Hork-Bajir; Rachel, the elephant; Hardy, also a gorilla; and as I told you, me, in the cougar morph. 

{Let's do it,} Rachel said enthusiastically. 

{Normally, I hate it when she points that out,} Marco muttered. He shot a sidelong glance at me. {But I don't think it'll hurt this time.} 

I started to feel edgy. As if Marco had just jinxed us. 

It was empty. No security guards. No Hork-Bajir. No Controllers of any kind. {Okay, who wants to ride the elevator first?} Jake asked. Everyone looked at me. 

{Firepower first.} 

{Okay, that counts me in,} Rachel said, somewhat happily. 

{As always,} Marco said. 

{I'll go,} Tobias started to climb on Rachel's back. {Ax, you come to. We'll see if we can all fit.} 

We found the storage elevator and they went up. After they left, I said, {And next is everyone else.} 

When the elevator came again, we all piled in. {Imagine,} Cassie said. {After this, it will all be over. No more battles. No more fighting.} 

{Yeah. Over for you guys, but I want my mom back,} Marco said grumpily. 

{Erek has a lock on her ship,} I told him. 

{He what?} 

{Surprise. That's what it was supposed to be. He's hacked into the computer and has them locked on a course here. She'll be here within a week. Thankfully, he got to her before the virus got to her computer. She can't even control her own ship. Which means she can't get away. Surprise.} 

Marco didn't say anything. Instead, he just kind of looked at me in disbelief. 

{I can't wait to have Tom back,} Jake said. 

{Let's have a celebration dinner,} Hardy offered. 

{Sounds good.} 

{Wait, wait, wait. We're getting ahead of ourselves here. We still have to destroy the Kandrona and then we can celebrate.} I tensed. I didn't know what was behind those doors, but I wasn't going to take chances. The elevator doors opened. 

I saw three Hork-Bajir. No, four. Tobias was fighting another Hork-Bajir and didn't have a cut on him. Ax had done serious damage to his. And Rachel, even though she was cut quite a bit, was holding her Hork-Bajir up with her trunk, squeezing it. I looked around and saw a thick metal door. Just in case of an attack, I guess. To keep Andalites in. 

{Hardy, open that door.} He did. Inside were thick metal walls. Plain metal. {Hope they aren't claustrophobic.} 

Jake had caught on by now. {Everybody, get the Hork-Bajir in here.} 

When we were done, Rachel demorphed and remorphed. {Let's do it,} she said again. 

We started pushing the Kandrona. {Watch out below!} Hardy shouted. 

We watched as the Kandrona fell. Marco laughed. {One small shove for man, one giant push for mankind.} 

We rode down the elevator, pleased as punch, laughing and joking, Marco telling everyone about his mom. And I was pleased. I mean, they were so happy. And that kind of made me happy. Cheesy, I know. But it's true. 

We had won. We had finally won the war, and saved the world. 

None of us could stop thinking and saying that. We had won. We won. Finally, we won. 

Chapter 9 

I was up early the next morning, dressed in jeans and a tank top. I made myself breakfast and sat alone at the breakfast room table. I was waiting. 

Finally, it came. A soft tap on the sliding glass door. I opened it and stepped out. Erek was there, smiling at me like a little boy who had just been given a remote control car for Christmas. "It worked," he told me. He laughed. 

"So when will she be back?" 

"Day after tomorrow. The Visser is ticked." 

"Really?" I asked innocently. "What about?" 

"He found that little message you left for him. The 'Ha Ha' on the last page? He didn't go through those files until this morning, when the Kandrona was found all over the sidewalk, and the Hork-Bajir were found. And about an hour ago, they discovered that, not only was their signal jammed, but that all of their files were missing. Except the two you gave the Visser." 

I smiled. "It was fun. Oh, and did he mention the curtsy?" 

Erek nodded and smiled. "Good job." 

"Thanks. The guys did a lot too." 

"When should we get Marco to meet his mom? I mean, we had someone on board who sabotaged the Kandrona on the ship quite a while ago. His mom is almost herself. We'll get her out of the pool as soon as she lands and take her to our house." 

"Great. Call me when she lands, and then I'll trick the guys into going. An excuse for why she's been gone so long?" 

"Amnesia. She hit her head on a rock when her boat crashed. She wandered all over the place, then she saw Marco at the mall and remembered." 

"Brilliant." Not to mention a classic. 

"Thanks, if I do say so myself. Hey, Marco doesn't by any chance know about his mom, does he?" 

"No, of course not." 

"Cat? Who are you talking to?" 

I looked at where Erek had been. Nothing was there, but I smiled at it. "Nobody Mom. Just thinking." 

"Okay. We're going to dinner tonight with some people from my new office. I talked to someone who works on the floor above me. She has three kids, named Rachel, Jordan, and Sara. Rachel is about your age, although a bit older. She's going to the same high school you're going to. She and her sisters are coming to dinner to, along with some other kids. Want to bring Hardy and Laurel?" 

"Sure, I guess they can tag along." I shrugged casually and glared at the spot where the air was beginning to shimmer ever so slightly. I had a feeling Erek had known. A last surprise for him to give. 

Ironic. That's what it was. Ironic. Alanis Morissette, this is ironic. My mom was trying to get me to be friends with some kid named Rachel and Rachel's friends. Ironic. I wasn't supposed to really know them, but now I had an excuse. I almost laughed. The irony! 

Or, as Rachel once said, "Well hello opportunity." 

Chapter 10 

Dinner was great. Get this. The people I was supposed to be friends with? Rachel, Cassie, Jake, and Marco. Tobias and Ax came about halfway through dinner and joined us. Hardy sat at our table, while Laurel sat with Jordan and Sara. Then, some of the Chee came by. Erek, too. He couldn't stop laughing. He sounded kind of like a hyena. 

But that night, I had a dream. It was about this ship landing. In cold, dark woods. And Hork-Bajir and Taxxons came out. They had brought more Yeerks. And in the dream, I realized something. You can never completely win a war. The Yeerks wanted Earth, and they wouldn't stop the wanting. Even after the Nazis lost, Nazi beliefs still hung around for a long time. They might still exist, I don't know. 

I saw another war. I saw battles, slaves, Yeerks, blood. But I also saw the good that came out of the war. Rachel and Tobias grew up together. Jake and Cassie did. Marco, he finally learned to accept being single and started a computer industry, got rich, and then a few girls learned to like him. Hardy and Laurel both got married when they got older- not to each other, of course. And Rachel and Tobias had two kids. A boy and a girl. Jake and Cassie had three. Hardy had two. Ax? He went to his home planet eventually. But he always came back for long visits. 

All around the world, people started talking about things called Yeerks, and pretty much forced the government to take care of some things to make people feel safer, even though they weren't. 

The Chee went through time in peace. 

Me? I saw a ship land one night, far in the future. When the guys were all grown up. But I was as old as I was now. I got their kids the morphing power and taught them how to use it, and we all started fighting again. 

Then I saw David, the rat. The Ellimist, after years, turned him back into a human. That's who I ended up with, believe it or not. He had changed, we knew. He had learned his lesson. Well, the dream, which turned out to come true a long time later, is another story. 

A completely different story. 

I woke up the next morning and called the Ellimist. He came, happy, yet still serious. I asked him to give Loren her memory back. That was the one thing left to take care of. I didn't ask anything else, because I knew not to ask too much. 

A week later, Loren had come back home and started her life over. The Ellimist had told her about us, knowing that was what I had been hoping for. Loren found Tobias and fixed her house so he and Ax could come and stay and watch TV whenever they wanted. 

Marco got his mom back, and since then, rarely let her out of his sight. 

Tom? Jake showed him the morph to tiger. Now they do a lot more stuff together. 

Kind of cheesy ending, I know. But it's a happy one. That's what's important. Everything ended up okay. 

Until that ship lands. 

The End 

Check out the sequel (Uh, please.) It's called "The Return." OH! And don't forget to review- PLEASE! 


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